2017 Honoree Celebration on March 2nd, Nominations Now Being Accepted!

Submit your nominations now for Nonprofit of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Leader of the Year, Youth Leader of the Year, Young Professional of the Year, and Ambassador of 2016! Then purchase your tickets to attend our Honoree Celebration co-hosted with the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce on March 2nd at Evergreen Elks Lodge!

Click here to nominate!

Purchase tickets for the Honoree Celebration at www.evergreenchamber.org/

The Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Evergreen join together to recognize their best!

The Annual Honoree Celebration is dedicated to honoring Leader, Nonprofit, Volunteer, Young Professional, Youth, and Ambassador of the Year.

Guest Speaker: Colorado State Senator, Gary Hart
Evergreen Elks Lodge ~ Thursday, March 2, 2016 ~ 5:30pm-8:30pm
Tickets $35 Go to evergreenchamber.org to purchase your tickets before it sells out!

Please vote by 2/13/17 for the most deserving nominees in the categories below and congratulations to all for being recognized for their hard work and dedication!

2016 Nonprofit of the Year Nominees:
Bootstraps Inc
This organization began in 1945 and since then has awarded more than 3.5 million $ in scholarships and interest free loans to over 1300 Conifer and Evergreen students. They have a matching donation program and their board does an excellent job stewarding the funds and also with the monumental task of pairing the 100's of applicants with the appropriate scholarships each year. Bootstraps has a mission of helping Conifer and Evergreen students fulfill their educational dreams and they have been carrying out that mission for over 70 years!

Mt Evans Home Health Care & Hospice
For the third time in four years, Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice was named one of the year’s Top 100 home health providers nationwide. Nearly 10,000 agencies are evaluated annually by the National Research Corporation and Decision Health, and Mount Evans has again been selected in 2016 as one of the Top 100, putting it in the top 1% of agencies in the country. Only one other Southern Colorado agency received this award this year. They fill such a crucial need in our community and have not only an impeccable reputation, but amazing fundraising efforts and community outreach.

EChO
1000 characters isn't enough to describe what EChO does for our community. They participate in or put on many events to either raise money for their nonprofit or get donated items to help their clients: 100 holes of golf, Thanksgiving Concert, Turkey Trot, Alternative Gift Fair, Boo Bash, Boogie at the Barn, Cody Rocks the Rockies, CO Gives Day, Emergency Shelter Program, Enrichment Center, Food Bank, Jobs Center, Resale Shop, Stuff the Truck, Valentines "Hearts for EChO" Dinner and the World’s Longest Picnic Table sponsorship.
The Emergency Shelter Program - this is a huge project and SO incredibly important to our community. It's amazing and sad how many people are living in their cars in the Walmart parking lot. EChO and their partners in this program are literally saving people's lives during these cold, cold days. EChO deserves to be recognized for the wonderful work they have been doing for 30 yrs.
Evergreen Christian Outreach (EChO) for their significant contributions to our neighbors who are in a season of need through their food bank, job center, and resale shop. 303-670-1796 -Mark Hines (EChO Board President).

Evergreen Elks Lodge #2363
Service to our community includes donations and support for:
Youth activities and scholarships
Senior
citizens
Veterans
Animal rescue organizations
Fire and rescue
Evergreen Christian Outreach
Mount Evans Hospice
Cultural organizations
Abused or handicapped children and adults

The Elks are celebrating their 50th Anniversary of helping so many youth, nonprofits and our local community. Last year they donated over $40,000.00 to local mountain non-profits. They work tirelessly volunteering to raise funds to benefit our community, state and country. Our community events include Renaissance Feast, Easter Egg Hunt and Free Breakfast, Field of Honor, Crawfish Boil, Rodeo Parade and Lunch, Outdoor Sports at the Lake, Thanksgiving Dinner for Seniors, Christmas Wish List for Laradon Hall, Flag Day, Jazz Festival, Jam Fest, Red, White and Brew Beer tasting benefiting veterans, Youth Hoop Shoot and Soccer Shoot and hosting a feast for Veterans along with donating winter essentials. They have donated to Alpine Rescue, Big Dogs, Bootstraps, Conifer High School, ECHO, Drive Smart, Freedom Service Dogs, MALT, Peace Works, Senior Resource Center, Mount Evans Hospice, Scout Troops and many more.

EASY - Evergreen Alliance for Sustainability
Service to our community includes:
Community gardens/beautification
Recycling Environmental awareness
Greening up our community

In March 2016 EAS+Y will began construction of a new community garden and nature-based play area with the help of a $43,900 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. The garden is located at Wilmot Elementary, at the corner of Hatch Drive and Buffalo Park Road. It has 30 garden beds, a toolshed, a shaded gathering area for classes, meetings and workshops. The nature based play area features an interactive play area utilizing natural elements such as sand pit, green tunnels, boulders for climbing as well as a sensory garden. This second community garden is a huge asset to Evergreen!

AT HOME in Evergreen
The faith based organizations in town banded together in an effort to start the first homeless shelter in our mountain community in response to a growing homeless population. This new and successful program is called the Emergency Shelter Program (ESP). A planning committee met throughout the year to write procedures, recruit host sites, train volunteers, raise funds, purchase bedding supplies, and conduct community information meetings. The shelter program began in October 2016 and started receiving its first homeless guests in November when temperatures turned cold. Shelter guests receive a hot meal and a warm place to sleep on severe weather nights. The program has made a very positive impact on our area's homeless population.

Leadership Evergreen and the Class of 2015
The class of 2015 elevated Leadership Evergreen by starting a Legacy Fund and securing a 501(C)6 designation. This was a class with 100% participation that volunteered hundreds of hours to have an event that broke the Guinness Book of World record with the World's Longest Picnic table. As a class, they had to organize, sell tables, promote event, build and dismantle over 120 picnic tables and send documentation to Guinness to prove that we did indeed break the record. Not only did they realize their goal of breaking the Guinness Book of World Record's category of longest picnic table, but they raised over $12,000 for 4 of our local food pantries in the process. They also adopted a stretch of Hwy 73 to keep clean and beautiful too. Over-achievers.

Drive Smart
Drive-Smart provides much needed education regarding safe driving practices for all ages. Their fundraising events are wildly popular and unite our community. They integrate education with exciting events including the Triple Bypass, Barks & Belts, and Skate the Lake, Drive-Smart is one of the best community assets we have!

Rotary Club of Evergreen
Evergreen Rotary has done a huge amount of projects that benefit our entire community. Everything from the Mountain Home and Garden Show to community cleanups and recycling to running youth leadership camps and connecting local families with exchange students from across the world. In 2016 they even used their fundraising dollars to install a $30,000 musical park at the Stagecoach playground. This group of individuals does a lot for our community and volunteers where and when needed.

2016 Volunteer of the Year Nominees
Melissa Baker for volunteer of the year.
She is very active with the Conifer Chamber and gives tirelessly to all the Conifer community events. Melissa also represents her company Gerou Associates when supporting the Evergreen Chamber, which she also does tirelessly. She loves our mountain community and gives so much of her selfless energy to so many organizations here!

Lori Frease
Lori helps EVERYWHERE in the community. Despite working full time for EChO and all that her position could drain her - Lori shows up at all sorts of different events to help volunteer, even helping other nonprofits when EChO isn't the beneficiary. She works tirelessly and always with a smile on her face. I am proud to call Lori my friend and have worked on many projects with her. In fact, she is the reason why I have been so successful with the last few fundraisers - Lori's organizational skills during the silent auctions have been a life saver. Lori gives and gives and gives and never asks for anything in return....OK, maybe the occasional glass of Chardonnay now and then, but deservedly so! Half the time you don't even know she's involved with something because it's "behind the scenes" like being the Leadership Evergreen webmaster or on the Evergreen Chamber BOD. Lori truly deserves this.

John Erlandson
I feel like John is always helping organize events around town that support and lift up others. He is involved in so many aspects of the community and stands out as a leader. He volunteers for multiple organizations in town, conducts food drives for EChO and helps
spearhead the Boogies at the Barn fundraising events.

Beckie Mosch
Beckie Mosch leads the Evergreen Christian Outreach Jobs Center and volunteers in several other capacities throughout our community. She has a tireless passion for improving the lives of disadvantaged people. Beckie personally wrote and teaches several computer training courses. She supervises and mentors five Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) grant recipients, a program that helps low income seniors re-enter the work force. Beckie assists jobless Evergreen residents through counselling, resume writing, and job search assistance. She is the outreach and marketing lead for the new Emergency Shelter Program and serves as an ESP volunteer as well. And finally, she volunteers on the Bergen Park Church Missions Team. She does all this while being a full-time mom as well. Beckie is a bright light in our community. Service is her middle name!

Susan Stearns
Susan Stearns of Blue Spruce Kiwanis and Mount Evans.
Susan has been a long-time member and servant of our Evergreen Community. She has volunteered for years as a leader in Kiwanis and Mount Evans Hospice. Her commitment to our community has led her to be on the Leadership Evergreen founding board, the Board President of Mount Evans 3 times, and an instrumental leader in the merging of the Blue Spruce and Evergreen Chapters of Kiwanis in order to make sure the organization stayed vibrant in our community. She continues to donate and volunteer countless hours even today and is a key member of our community. She would make a fantastic recipient of volunteer of the year.

2016 Nominees for Young Professional of the Year
Marisa Rodero of Roots Medicine Acupuncture & Herbal Healing
Marisa works very hard to help her patients reach optimal health and wellbeing with individualized treatments of acupuncture and / or Chinese herbs. Her calm, intelligent and nurturing approach to healing exemplifies her maturity as a professional healer, well beyond her years. She's very active in our community by volunteering for the Evergreen Chamber, as well as being a Chamber Ambassador. As a Chamber Ambassador, she has been really great at keeping her new member mentees informed and welcomes them to the Chamber, showing up at events and growing her new business as an acupuncturist. She maintains integrity and a willingness to become involved in the community.

Colin Riebel of 2HM Concepts
Colin has spun 2HM Concepts from his Production Design Company called, 2Henchmen Productions. He’s an artist who designs lighting and programming for theater, but he also has a passion for helping people optimize the digital part of their businesses. Below is a list of services that 2HM concepts offers:

Full web design and hosting. From scratch, rebuilds, mobile optimization, responsive design, e-commerce, etc.

Local and competition targeted SEO

Social media management, Google Adwords, Google My Business, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.

Content creation. Written, video, audio (I've got that face for radio), artwork, and...lighting.

Consulting. Mostly communication and systems integration. I live
for making things work easier, more
effective, and more automatic.

Secret sauce software.
Colin has recently worked with our own Evergreen Players at Center Stage.

Caitlyn Dunbar of Edward Jones Investments
As an Edward Jones financial advisor, Caitlyn believes it’s important to invest her time to understand what you’re working toward before you invest your money. It's also important to understand the level of risk you're comfortable accepting when investing so she and you can balance it with the steps necessary to reach your long-term goals. Caitlyn’s focus areas are investors saving for retirement, retirees, college savers, individuals with Insurance needs, and individuals with estate needs. Caitlyn volunteers in our community, is a Chamber Ambassador who mentors new members, and has recently hosted a free investment seminar here in Evergreen to show others how to separate the news from the noise about how the Trump administration may affect investments in 2017 and beyond.

Kristin Ledgerwood, Owner of Vivian's Gourmet
Kristin left behind the world of Interior Design behind after completing baking and pastry training to follow her passion with confections. Kristin puts her heart and soul into creating unique, artisan confections and she loves assisting clients to select products that fit their wholesale needs as well. She offers small-batch, fresh ingredients, gluten-free options, and she also holds cooking classes on weekends to bakers of all ages. She donates her treats to churches on Sundays. Kristin is invested in helping Downtown Evergreen thrive one cupcake at a time!

2016 Nominees for Youth of the Year
Piper Richey
Piper plays volleyball for Conifer High School and she volunteers for volleyball with younger kids, has helped out at Intermountain Humane Society. Piper is in the Evergreen Rotary’s Interact Club, National Honor Society and is going to State with Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). She is helping raise money for DECA scholarships by going to local businesses and making an ask. Piper Richey is a go-getter youth in our mountain community!

Natalie Holley
Natalie has been working in the Sells Law Firm office for nearly a year and has been a tremendous support to their clients. She demonstrates exceptional professionalism and knowledge and has been a true joy to have in the office. She is graduating from Evergreen High this year and has been an exceptional leader at the school. She leads the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, has been the golf team captain (qualifying for the state tournament), and is a perpetual honor student who has been given an appointment at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She is also an active volunteer at her church, which is in our Evergreen community. She is deserving of recognition!

2016 Nominees for Ambassador of the Year
Penny Randall
Writer for Evergreen Newspapers
Penny is first to offer her help with any and every event that the Evergreen Chamber puts on. She's also a great mentor in the Chamber’s ambassador program. She loves the Evergreen community!

Marisa Rodero
Owner of Roots Medicine Acupuncture & Herbal Healing
Marisa exudes genuine warmth, caring, and a peaceful spirit that makes you feel better simply by spending time with her. She's a fabulous listener, extremely helpful with fellow businesses, a hard worker, conscientious, and a consummate professional. She perfectly embodies the best qualities of a Chamber Ambassador and is deserving of the title "Ambassador of the Year!" Time and Time again she has taken on more than many of her teammates. Consistently and reliably attended most, if not all, of the Ambassador events and goes out of her way at events to meet and touch base with members.

Ellen O'Connor
Executive Director of Evergreen Park and Rec Department
Ellen is one of those individuals who truly exemplifies the role of "Ambassador". She is someone who greets people with a smile and is always ready with a great big bear hug. She has a positive attitude and passes that along to those she meets up with. I have seen Ellen at ribbon cuttings - she is welcoming to the new businesses and represents Evergreen well. Ellen is very diplomatic and professional in balancing her role with EPRD and the community. Since Walmart no longer has greeters, I recommend having Ellen stand on the ramp from I-70 onto Highway 74 and greet people as they arrive at our town. Her smiling face would be a welcome sight to all of our visitors.

Caitlyn Dunbar
Financial Advisor for Edward Jones Investments
Caitlyn Dunbar is a wonderful example of professionalism and selfless volunteering as she gives so much of her time to the Evergreen Chamber. She’s always taking on new mentees and never says no when asked to lend a hand at a Chamber event. The ambassador team is so very lucky to have Caitlyn’s youth, energy and spirit on their team.

John Ellis
Evergreen National Bank
He is a constant joy and fantastic face to the Evergreen community. He faithfully dedicates his time and energy as an ambassador to build bridges in our community. I'm not sure what his phone number is... but he's easy to find!

Sorry for the delay...
The winners from the 2017 Honoree Celebration are as follows:

Nonprofit of 2016: Mount Evans Home Health Care & Hospice,

Young Professional of 2016: Vivian's Gourmet, Kirstin Ledgerwood

Ambassador of 2016: Roots Medicine - Acupuncture & Herbal Clinic, Marisa Rodero

Volunteer of 2016: Lori Frease

Youth of 2016: Natalie Holley

Leadership Evergreen's Leader of 2016: Wayne Parkinson